Found two public areas that seem to have hog problems (rumors at this time, but probably valid). The one I'm interested in is LBJ National Grassland near Decatur, TX.

The website states that only shotguns, muzzleloader and bow are legal here.

Most all people around here are deer and/or turkey hunters, and I'm not interested in that. I want hogs.

So with that in mind, what would be a good choice for a poor shot with a preference for handguns?

A shotgun? Slugs or buck? Double barrel, pump or auto? Gage? I'm sure 12 gage would be preferable, or should I search for a 10?

OR....

A modern style inline muzzleloader? Sabots? Blackpowder double shotgun with a pair of slugs?

OR...

Muzzleloading pistol? Maybe two? How about a cap and ball revolver for backup? I'm not sure if it would even be legal, but I can check.

Public land does not allow night hunting, of course, so this would be daylight. I do not know anything about hogs either, but I can sure make them taste good

Scott, I have hunted the grasslands you talk of, I haven't seen many hogs there, but I could be wrong. As I recall buckshot wasn't allowed, but slugs were, which is a good thing, because IMHO buckshot is poor hunting load for anything past 25 yards. A 12 gauge pump or auto would be preferred, with rifled barrel if you want the best accuracy, however I think a smooth bore would work fine, just try several different brands of slugs for best results.
A 50 caliber or better muzzle loader would work fine, but if you missed or even worse wounded a hog you would have a hard time reloading while trying to climb a tree.
I have hunted hogs with a muzzleloader, but with a hunting buddy along so we would back each other up.
Like I said, I havent hunted there in several years, but we fish and camp there yearly. BTW, you can get a map at the Forest Service Headquarters on hwy 287 north, at the edge of Decatur. Hope that helps.
Good luck and good shooting

Slugs with a good light gathering scope or a scoped muzzleloader, and a back up pistol with the muzzleloader is not a bad idea. I don't find that hogs actually are aggressive that often, but if you wound a pig and it starts squealing, look out for mama.

Without knowing the regulations I am hard pressed to comment further, but if you can bait, a few hundred pounds of corn, placed in 15 to 25 pound increments for a few days on a heavily used trail(s) will almost insure success. Once they start eating it, you don't have to have a stand, just sit on a plastic bucket(dove buckets work great, if quiet) fairly close and DOWNWIND from the baited area. The closer the better, as you will very likely be shooting in extremely limited light. Check out Texasboars.com for some good info. On my ranch, with the exception of very dark cloudy days, hogs are almost exclusively late, late evening or nocturnal. Stay on the bait until you absolutely cannot see to frame a pig in the scope(forget the crosshairs, just put his front end in the middle and shoot, remember you are probably under 25 yards from him) and remember, they are vermin, not sporting critters. Shoot them by moonlight or spotlights(regs permitting) also. They are rapidly overrunning the countryside. Not to mention they eat great, too. It is fun and exciting. And, if you shoot a big one, don't wreck your back getting him in the truck.

Scott,

I recommend the shotgun choices from the list you propose, and 12 ga is fine. I would take my turkey gun with choke appropriate for the slug load as it has a set of hi viz fiber optic sights. This particular item is a semi-auto, A Winchester Super X2. Other flavors of shotgun will work fine, but in my experience pigs come with low light or dark.

If you can get a scope on a shotgun, I like the Trijicon scopes with illuminated reticle. I have two I have used on leopard hunts.

Around my area the barley field work best, but I have heard of some folks baiting with corn to good effect.

If you can't use artificial light, use the moon.

jim dodd

------------------
"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

[This message has been edited by HunterJim (edited 12-25-2001).]

I would suggest the pump or auto with a 1 1/2x5 scope. Leave the charcoal burner at home. If you need a follow-up shot, you may need it damn fast and damn bad.

Scott,

I know this sounds weird from a high tech lover like myself, but I'm now in a shotgun (slug) only deer state. After much testing an H&R Pardner Tracker II Plus w/scope is the best slug setup going (possible exception the no-longer available A-Bolt II slug gun - not tested). This is a break action single barrel in 12 ga. 3 in magnum. The barrel is a ten gauge blank, bored and rifled to 12 gauge. Makes for an 11.5 lb gun. It shoots clover leafs at 50 yards, 1.5-2 inches at 125 yards. Scope mounts directly to the barrel, with a supplied Weaver-style rail, so that problem is solved.

I have one with a Simmons shotgun scope, and this $160 setup beat everything else hands down. I have not been handicapped by the single shot. Reloading is fast and easy if you practice - besides the accuracy is worth it.

I have used it four years and will not even consider changing.

Don

Thanks for the input, guys. I am completely unfamiliar with slugs, so I wasn't sure if they would be comparable to a muzzleloader. I guess so.

I was kind of interested in doing a double barrel with slugs because it would be similar to a miniature African grassland hunt with a double rifle, at least sort of. Just for grins of course. But I don't know if such a shotgun exists.

I'll be keeping my eyes open at the gun show next month. The only thing I can remember about the shotguns was that there were plenty in the $5,000 range, and I could not figure out why. Seems like its just a pipe with a trigger, but then again, I know nothing about them.

So I take it that a rifled slug barrel is preferable? The other stuff I can fit myself if needed, because the initial price will be the go/no-go gage.

As far as baiting and night hunting, I don't think you can on public lands. Eterry, you would know more about this, correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I wonder if the rumored hog problem is a new twist, or it just isn't noticeable in the daytime, or just a false rumor? Doesn't really matter. If I saw one I probably couldn't hit it, and if I did hit it, I wouldn't know what to do with it. But I'll probably be with a more experienced hunter or two so that's okay.

Thanks again all!

Scott,

The rifled barrel is a must if you are after repeatable accuracy.

Don

I agree wholeheartedly with Don G that the Tracker II is a heckuva slug gun. My sons are getting them in 20 ga. as their first deer guns. My personal recommendation is the Mossberg 695, that is what I use and I like it quite a lot. 12 guage, rifled, bolt action. They work great and can be purchased for $225-$250, truly a bargain! Marlin also makes one but I don't like it as much. If you are able to hunt at night I'd suggest an illuminated recticule, otherwise don't bother. I have a 3X9 scope on mine, but really would like to go down to 2 power whenever I decide to upgrade it.

Now a remington 870 or mossberg 500 pump with a slug barrel is a good setup too, but as Don G points out you can get an entire gun (Tracker II) for less than the price of a rifled barrel, and it is a better shooting package even if money were out of the equation.

For hogs at ranges less than 100 yards slugs are the way to go.

I have to disagree with Don on the necessity of a rifled barrel with slugs. I will say that you must have good sights for repeatable accuracy. My smoothbores shoot both remington sluggers and winchester's rifled slugs very well.

Scott, I think you can't use bait or hunt at night there, but I might be mistaken. As for the reference for a handgun for backup, that too is a no-no on the grasslands.
Good luck and good hunting

To be honest, I doubt I'm a good enough shot to notice any accuracy differences, but that's all the more reason to use any edge I can gain.

On private land I would stick to the 454, so this would just be something to stay legal on public land. Like Eterry says, the rules are stricter, even for hogs.

Is there such a thing as a double barrel that is made specifically for slugs? Inexpensive, that is?